The Chair
by AgentOfAngst
Summary: ****EVERYTHING AFTER THIS IS AN ENDGAME SPOILER.**** Peter meets Shuri at the funeral and the two quickly become friends, making it hard for Peter to resist playing matchmaker between his two best friends. And, it seems to be working.
1. Teenage friends

**Holding onto this ship and this story idea since Infinity War, and frankly, I'm glad I waited until after Endgame. Spoilers for Endgame ahead, no spoilers from the trailers of Spiderman: Far from Home and I expect spoilers for Far from Home to be kept out of the comments.**

**There's no talking me out of this ship. **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1- Shuri

Shuri had never met Tony Stark. Yet she stood next to her brother paying her respects nonetheless. She said her condolences to those who clearly knew him better, including a weepy teenage boy about her age.

"Thank you, he will be missed. I'm Peter by the way."

"Shuri."

"How'd you know Tony Stark?" Shuri asked.

"He… He was like a dad to me. I don't think he intended to be, but that's how it ended up. He was protective and caring, and he wanted me to be better than him. He wanted me to learn and grow and be more than just a guy with some powers."

"It's hard losing a father," Shuri said empathetically.

"Yeah, so how did you know Mr. Stark?"

"I didn't know him personally. But my brother knew him."

"Is T'Challa your brother?" Peter pieced together, looking shocked. Shuri folded her hands together and smiled.

"Yes." Peter bowed and she stifled a laugh.

"Please do not bow."

"That's just, that's so cool, you're a princess." Shuri nodded.

"Is Wakanda really as advanced as the news portrays it to be?" Peter wore a look of wonderment.

"Vibranium is a very useful resource."

"Isn't that what Captain America's shield is made of?"

"Yes, and my brother's suit, and much of the technology in Wakanda. I could make you a vibranium spider suit if you wanted?" Peter looked flustered and surprised.

"That's so nice of you, we just met, you don't have to…"

"Part of Wakanda's outreach program should include making sure the people trying to save the world are well equipped to do so. You're doing good work here."

"Thank you. I really appreciate your offer, but… Can I think about it?"

"Of course, no problem. Let me give you my number, you can call me if you make a decision. Or if you need to talk. I know what it's like to lose a father, if you need to talk to someone, just call. I'll be in the states for a while."

"For the Wakanda outreach program," Peter guessed as she punched her working number into his phone.

"Yes." She handed him his phone back, and then, suddenly, he pulled her into a hug. She was surprised but hugged back.

"Thank you, Shuri, for everything. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to." T'Challa came over as Peter pulled away and put a hand on Shuri's shoulder.

"We should be going Shuri."

"Bye Shuri!" Peter waved as she walked away and she watched him rejoin the mourners.

Shuri didn't tell her brother she'd offered a stranger vibranium technology. She had a feeling that Peter would become more of a friend than a stranger. He had seemed eager for someone who understood. And to tell the truth, so was she. She didn't have many teenage friends, and certainly not ones who would go toe to toe with Thanos. He'd be a good friend to have.

After the funeral, they'd gone straight to California, and she began to make herself at home.

"I will have to return to Wakanda," T'Challa told her solemnly.

"Of course." She could tell he was deeply unsettled that five years had passed since Wakanda had had a true leader. Okoye was trustworthy and able, but Wakanda needed a King.

"Your guard will be in constant attendance." Her confident older brother was an overprotective basket case, fearing his inability to protect her from the Universe.

"I can handle myself, brother."

"I will not take any chances with your life. I need you to be careful."

"I will." T'Challa embraced her and held her tight for just a moment.

"You are Wakanda's representative here in America. I expect you to do our country justice."

"Yes, brother." T'Challa hugged her once more.

"I'm proud of you Shuri." Then he turned to leave, leaving her alone, with her guard in earshot. Though the outreach program began tomorrow she could hardly sleep tonight. She was excited and a little bit scared. Not much scared her, but this was a big step for her country. She was introducing new science into a country that was not her own. Maybe they wouldn't want to be helped. Maybe they would reject her process and her progress. If these Americans did not want to be helped, it would be a lesser offense. But if they shamed Wakanda, well, then she would go back a letdown. That was what scared her. Not the threats that T'Challa feared, but the shame she feared he expected.

She fell back on the bed, feeling a bit homesick. If she called T'Challa he would come back for her, no matter how far away he had gotten. Her brother would always come back for her, he was her best friend and closest ally. But if she called him it would undo all the trust that she'd earned. He would believe that she couldn't handle the outreach program on her own. He would think she that was too young. And he would be happy because he wanted her home. He was still scared after what had happened and she didn't blame him, but she knew she could handle this. The homesickness would pass as soon as she threw herself into the program. She just had to make it through tonight.

And then she got a phone call. She answered right away.

"Shuri?" It was Peter.

"Yes? What's up Peter?" Peter seemed to laugh, maybe in relief, and she felt similarly.

"Sorry, I felt like I had to call, I know it sounds stupid but girls have given me wrong numbers before…" Shuri laughed in surprise.

"Why would I give you a fake number?"

"I dunno maybe I annoyed you."

"I said you could call me any time and I meant it. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, but everything feels different now. Different people live in my building, different people will go to my school… I don't even know if my best friend is 15 or 20. I haven't been able to get ahold of him. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"I understand. I'm in Oakland with the program, we start tomorrow and I feel ill-prepared. Wakanda's involvement with the U.S. stalled the past five years. I don't know if I can start it up now all by myself. I don't know if they'll be receptive or if they'll think what we're doing is too little too late."

"You're in Oakland?" Peter asked, seemingly ignoring her insecurities.

"Yes…" She wondered where this was going.

"Work the program in the morning, call me at 1 and we'll go do a touristy thing together. We can facetime and I'll do something touristy in New York and you can do something touristy in California. That way, instead of spending tomorrow stressed and homesick you can spend the day looking forward to getting to know your new home." Shuri thought for a moment.

"Peter, you're a genius."

"Ah, so are you. Talk to you tomorrow!"


	2. More than friends?

**Nothing can talk me out of this ship.**

**Enjoy!**

**Please Review!**

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Chapter 2- Peter

Peter hadn't told Shuri, but the only reason he hadn't immediately said yes to her Vibranium suit offer was because Mr. Stark had designed this suit. His emotions were still raw, and it didn't feel like something he should move on from so fast. This suit, well, the two suits, represented his relationship with Tony.

Of course, he also didn't know Shuri very well. But he was pretty sure they'd be good friends. So when he got off school he explained the plan to Ned, made sure May knew what he was doing so she wouldn't worry, and waited for Shuri's call.

"I can't believe you're friends with the Princess of Wakanda," Ned said in a low voice as they waited.

"A lot has happened, I'm just glad that, you know, we can still be friends. I'm glad you're not 20 in college for computer science." Peter had probably hugged his best friend twenty times since the day had begun, but one more couldn't hurt.

"I can't believe we lost five years…"

"I wish that was all we lost." Peter ran a hand through his hair sadly.

"I'm sorry, man." Ned put a hand on Peter's shoulder, supporting him. Peter nodded, and then suddenly he got Shuri's facetime call.

"Hey, you called!"

"Peter you have to stop expecting me to not call or answer."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. So, how was the program?"

"It went well. I think I'm going to be able to help a lot of people."

"That's awesome! That's really exciting."

"Yeah. Anyways, where do you want to go in Oakland?" Peter thought for a moment.

"Chabot Space and Science Center." He had done some research.

"Sounds like a plan… How far are you from Rainbow bagels?"

"Like half an hour. Oh, Shuri this is Ned, my best friend, he'll be joining us."

"Great. I will be joined by my trained guard, who probably will not participate."

"Let's go get bagels."

As they traveled to their respective destinations, they talked about essentially everything. Future plans, the world after the snap and where they fit in it. Listening to them talk, there was nothing special about the three. They were just a couple of scared kids living life after just getting it back.

"You know, a lot of people are out of a job, we barely have any of the same teachers because someone else got their jobs," Peter said, looking sad.

"The employment market was cut in half. Obviously, new positions are opening up now that there's new demand, but not fast enough," Ned added.

"There are so many problems everywhere. We just have to walk the streets and wonder if we should even be alive," Shuri said somberly, not wanting to think such dismal thoughts. But that was what filled her head.

"We shouldn't be having our midlife crises before we're twenty," Peter said loudly and vehemently, causing the people on public transport to look at him oddly.

"You're right. I guess that's why we live for distractions," Shuri agreed.

"Is that what we're doing? Trying to distract ourselves until we die? Because you two seemed to me to be people who could actually make a difference in this world, correct me if I'm wrong." Ned interrupted. Peter gave him a weird look and made a mental note to follow up on that later.

"Yeah, I guess that's what we're really living for. We'll just see how it works out." Peter rested a hand on Ned's shoulder and kind of fell out of the conversation, just listening for a minute.

"We're driving up to the science Museum now. I don't know how far it is but we've been driving for a minute. I'll film out the window for you," Shuri said, making Peter crack a sad smile, thinking about his trip to Germany with Mr. Stark. He and Ned peered down at the screen, watching Oakland pass by. When a recognizable orange sign popped up, she and Ned practically said in unison,

"Road work ahead? I sure hope it does."

"Hey, Ned and I reached the bagel place. You said you wanted rainbow bagels? We will get the rainbowiest bagels here." Shuri laughed.

"Good."

"How'd you know about this place anyway? I think I've only been here once."

"Safiya Nygaard did a video where she went here with her boyfriend."

"One day we'll treat you to a rainbow bagel," Peter promised, showing off what he and Ned had just ordered.

"Sounds good," Peter was just happy to be the distraction, for now, he needed one as much as she did, he was terrified to start back at school with the five year set back. He was terrified to be facing the world as Spiderman without his mentor and father figure. He'd cried last night, and he'd hated it. He was just tired of being sad. So he was chasing distractions with his friends, though he was mostly sitting back and listening as Shuri gave them a tour of the Chabot Space and Science Center. He was just focusing on her tour until he heard some commotion on his side. He hadn't noticed the group of teens come in until they were loudly in his space.

Peter only had to look at them to know that these were people who had grown up during the snap. They looked arrogant and entitled and they were mocking Ned. Peter didn't even hear the words they were saying, he just saw someone try to push his best friend out of his chair and saw red. He stepped between them and pushed them away, not trying to hold back his strength.

"Leave him alone. No one messes with my friends and gets away with it."

"Peter, it's okay, don't worry about it. I might look like a burnt chicken nugget, but I still love myself." The group of teens walked away, muttering insults, and Peter sat down, feeling flustered.

"I'm sorry, man," he apologized to Ned.

"What happened?" Shuri asked.

"Just some hecklers. Don't worry about it. We're probably headed home," Ned said.

"Do you want to do this again?" Shuri asked. Peter had spent the afternoon listening to Ned and Shuri become friends.

"Yeah, we should. Shuri, I'll give you Ned's number and maybe we can set up a group chat and set something up."

"Sounds good, it's been fun talking to you today Ned."

"Yeah, you too…." Ned was smiling, and Peter quirked a smile too. It was clear all three of them were friends. Maybe his newest distraction could be changing Ned and Shuri from friends to more than friends.


	3. Late-night duet

**Nothing can talk me out of this ship. Not the comics, the movies, or anything in between.**

**Enjoy!**

**Please Review!**

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Chapter 3- Ned

Ned was stressed out, to say the least. Peter was a little unhinged and everyone who had a lot to offer the world was depressed and it was all just really worrisome. And worrying about Peter was pretty much a full-time gig. Peter was well-meaning but impulsive. Earlier today he could have seriously hurt those guys, and so Ned was cautious. He wanted Spiderman to be Spiderman and save lives and help people, but not at the cost of losing Peter.

When Shuri texted him later, just to say she'd had a good time that day he jumped on the chance to explain his friend's behavior.

"Peter doesn't usually act like that," he texted. His phone lit up with her caller ID and he answered.

"What do you mean?" Shuri asked.

"I don't know if you saw, but Peter kind of assaulted some guys who were getting in my face, he's not normally like that."

"What did they do?" Ned blushed and was glad she couldn't see him. He got out his homework so he could work on it while they talked.

"They just called me fat and ugly, nothing new."

"That's rude." He could practically hear her frown.

"Yeah, but Peter could have really hurt them."

"Well, he was standing up for you. You should know that you aren't fat and ugly." Now his whole face was on fire.

"I'm just worried about Peter. He's so on edge right now. I think it might be a very hard line to walk to help people by being Spiderman and not go too far."

"During the battle against Thanos, he used instant kill mode." Any color that had remained in his face disappeared. Just knowing that about Peter made him worry a hundred percent more.

"That kind of thing has me worried. I'm afraid that if he doesn't continue to be Spiderman he'll become apathetic and depressed, but I'm also afraid that as Spiderman he's becoming defensive and impulsive. And he's always been impulsive."

"I can tell you care a lot about him."

"Well, yeah, he's my best friend."

"I'd say that the person who saves a hero is a pretty big hero himself." Ned cracked a smile.

"Like the guy in the chair?"

"The what?"

"The person behind the hero who tells him or her where to go. The guy in the chair." Shuri laughed on her end, a pretty, earnest laugh.

"I've never thought of myself as the guy in the chair but I guess I am for my brother."

"We're the people behind the people who save the world. Although you shouldn't be so modest Shuri, Peter told me you could hold your own in a fight."

"I'm sure you could as well." Well, the only heroic thing he'd ever done was fire off a web shooter... So, not really.

"Eh, I couldn't even stand up to some jerks in a bagel place."

"I could argue that you made a braver choice by not letting it get under your skin. You said that Peter is impulsive, so it's good that you aren't." Ned wanted to argue with her, to tell her that he and Peter were just different types of immature. But he could fight that battle alone, and he really was trying to fight it. To be a better guy in the chair, and really, just to be a better guy.

So he changed the subject.

"Tell me about the outreach program." He was pretty sure he could hear her flop back on her bed, cheap hotel springs squeaking. His pencil squeaked in time as he did his math homework, a late-night duet. Well no, it would only be six there and nine here.

"One of our biggest objectives is to introduce Wakanda technology into the community. Into schools and hospitals, for instance. We also want to help impoverished communities, start charities and soup kitchens and offer jobs and job training." When Shuri talked about her plans her voice filled with life. She sounded excited and confident and happy. She sounded like she was seizing her future now and he admired her for that. His life had always felt segmented like right now was the time designated for going through high school and being kind of miserable. And in a few years in college, he'd figure out who he was supposed to be and seize his future. Right now, he had no clue. But Shuri did, and listening to her talk was refreshing.

"There's a lot to do, but it's something Wakanda should've been doing for the past five years. Thanos threw everyone off their game, and now we're needed more than ever. I'm just glad I get to be a part of this." Ned didn't say anything for a moment, though he had been intently listening to her.

"Ned? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just, listening to you talk about this makes me happy." Now his face was on fire, and maybe hers was too. He was mortified that he'd let those words escape his mouth, especially since he'd only just "met" her.

"So um… Do you think we'll do another touristy thing tomorrow or soon?"

"Yeah, I'm sure we will. I'll ask Peter tomorrow and uh, one of us will text you."

"Are you busy? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you on the line forever." Shuri apologized suddenly.

"Hey no worries, I'm just working on homework."

"Yeah? What're you working on?"

"Math."

"Talk me through your problems, I might be able to help."

"Talk you through my math problems?" He laughed.

"Yeah, unless you have real problems you need to talk out." Ned hesitated.

"If I let you help me with my math homework, which you want to do for some reason, will you tell me more about the program?"

"Yeah." He blushed at her voice, though he tried not to.

"Great." They didn't mean to, but the phone call lasted two hours until he literally fell asleep at his desk talking to her and she hung up.


	4. Lists

**I'm trying to write Shuri as smart and capable as she is while maintaining her goofier, childlike qualities. The story _I'm Peter By The Way_ by Triscribe does a great job of representing Shuri and Peter, I highly recommend checking it out, I personally am obsessed with it. **

**Enjoy!**

**Please Review!**

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Chapter 4- Shuri

Shuri took one look at the day's schedule and knew that she wasn't going to have time to "hang out" with the boys today. Yesterday had been a great day, but today she would just be far too busy with the program. So she sent a text out to Ned to let him know of her unavailability.

"No problem, I'll tell Peter," Ned texted back, adding a few seconds later, "Have a good day!"

She went into work smiling. Today would be a busy training day. Many of the people they'd hired from the community would need to be trained in their different positions. Shuri was excited but exhausted by the prospect. It would be a good day, but a long one. She got ready to work.

About an hour or two in her work was interrupted by a call from T'challa.

"Shuri, how is the program going?"

"It's going well, brother. We are training our newest employees today. Many of these people were put out of a job when the snap was reversed. Hiring them was our first big outreach."

"I'm proud of you, Shuri. I'm sure a lot of good will come out of the program.

"I hope so."

"And how are you doing? Did yesterday go well?"

"I am perfectly fine T'challa," she would never mention the homesickness, "I went sightseeing yesterday afternoon with some friends."

"You've already made friends in Oakland?" T'challa asked in disbelief.

"Well no, I've made friends in New York. But we video chatted and went sightseeing."

"Digital friends does make more sense for you," T'challa teased. Shuri huffed.

"I have met one of them!"

"The Spider kid?"

"Yeah."

"Who else?"

"Peter's best friend Ned."

"I'm glad you've made friends Shuri. Enjoy your time in California, but be careful. Your guard is there for a reason. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be careful, brother. I'm not going to be reckless, you should know that."

"I expect you to be responsible, Shuri, and if you are not, I may have to bring you home." That's what she'd feared.

"I will not put the outreach program in jeopardy," Shuri promised solemnly.

"Good." Her brother's words held much weight. He wasn't messing around and expected her to not mess around either. He could turn a blind eye to bagel excursions, but he wouldn't turn a blind eye forever. The world was still reeling from a disaster of unimaginable proportions, and she knew T'challa was doing his best to rebuild and readjust. But he was scared. Everyone was.

"Trust me, T'challa, I need to be here. So I can help people."

"I know you will help people. Now I must do the same. Good luck Shuri. We'll talk later."

"Goodbye, brother." She was relieved when he was off the call. He was obviously well-meaning, but his scrutiny was overwhelming. She was doing her best here, and his promise to bring her home if she was irresponsible sounded more like a threat.

"I just need him to trust me," she muttered and got back to work.

The rest of the day was spent surrounded by people, but honestly, Shuri felt incredibly alone. She thought about calling up Peter and Ned, but there was no doubt both boys were busy with homework and families.

"I wonder what American school is like…" She mused aloud when she took a very late lunch break away from the others. She wanted to get to know her employees and that included eating with them, but today she was a little tired. She'd gotten up early to start working, and had been going all day except for the few minutes when she was talking to T'challa. She just wanted to sit down for a bit and think things out.

"I bet the boys would tell me." The boys. They were the boys now… Her boys. She really liked those two. They were her first teenage friends, and they made her life a little better.

"Tomorrow," she amended.

"I'll make time for them… I'll make time for me tomorrow." She promised, grabbing a small lined pad of paper and writing at the top, Questions for American Bois.

"I wonder if it's like what's on Tumblr…" She wrote down a couple of questions as she ate her lunch.

What's American school like?

What are school dances like?

Taco Bell?

Is American life like Tumblr?

Then she added a couple of questions because she realized she didn't know her "bois" very well.

Favorite Musical?

Favorite Vine?

Taco Bell?

What are your family's like?

It was just a starting list for now, but thinking about questions she could ask Ned and Peter made her feel a little bit less alone right now. She pocketed the question list and went back to work, making a difference in the community.

She made other lists that day, lists of the strengths and weaknesses of some of her employees as well as a list of the things she would have to get to tomorrow and in the days after that. But of all the lists she made and all the work she did, the thing she seemed to care the most about was the list of questions for her friends in New York. Each list represented a bit of who she was, her outreach lists represented her more serious, hardworking side, and the list for her boys represented the side of her was still just a teenager and just wanted friends to laugh and joke and have fun with. Sometimes her brother only wanted her to be one of those two lists. But she knew both had to exist for her to be complete.

Her guard had to carry her back to the hotel, as Shuri had insisted on staying late after the employees left to finish some paperwork and had fallen asleep at a breakroom table. Shuri needed the sleep, and she'd done a lot today. She was proud of her accomplishments, and she was proud of the little list of questions she had for her friends when morning came. But she got a bit of an early wake-up call around 11 o'clock at night, two in the morning New York time, and it became pretty evident pretty quick that she wasn't going to be getting much more beauty sleep.


	5. Normal Teen Stuff

Chapter 5-Peter

When Ned told him that Shuri couldn't do sightseeing today Peter had two thoughts. The first was that he had time to do patrol as Spiderman, the second was that it was a good sign that Shuri was texting Ned instead of him. He smiled slightly and nodded.

"That's fine."

"You want to work on homework later at my place?" Ned offered.

"My mom kinda wants to know that you're okay and she'll make all kinds of snacks if you come over." As tempting as that offer was, Peter knew he had to get back into the swing of things… Literally.

"Nah, man, I think I'm going to go on patrol after school."

"Oh, cool. I can be your guy in the chair." Peter kind of laughed.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have Karen, you know, the suit lady? I don't really need a guy in the chair today." Ned's face seemed to fall for a second. He regained his composure quickly, but Peter had definitely noticed.

"Hey, but I'll totally come over later. Nine O'clock, homework, I promise!" Ned smiled shakily and nodded and they headed to class.

Peter was kind of happy to be back at school. Considering one of the last things he remembered before the snap was being on an alien planet fighting a crazy titan, this little bit of normal was refreshing and good for him. But as much as he enjoyed the normalcy, he couldn't ignore his pull towards being Spiderman again. It would be his first time suiting up since Mr. Stark's funeral. That put a bit of a damper on his enthusiasm. It would be hard to be Spiderman without Mr. Stark as his mentor, but the world needed a Spiderman more than ever, didn't it?

Didn't it? Because patrol started out pretty slow. He half regretted bailing on Ned to do this. Ned's mom made awesome, awesome snacks. But he had to do this, had to keep going even when the going got boring. Because if someone didn't do it, something could go wrong. He didn't know if he had to be more than the friendly neighborhood Spiderman now that Mr. Stark was dead, but he was willing to do whatever it takes to fill those shoes. Would be nice though, if the Avengers had given him a heads up on what that meant, and what districts he covered now that everything was different.

"A sign, please." He muttered to himself. He hadn't meant literally, and was about to head to Ned's place early for homework and snacks and other normal teen stuff, when he got his sign. Except it was more like an explosion than a sign. Actually, it was exactly an explosion. He heard it before he saw it, and swung towards the commotion.

Except the sign that was an explosion was actually a trap for the Spiderman. Well, for any little Avenger that sprung the trap. And it was the newest little Avenger that took the bait. Of course. Because to live up to his mentor, Peter couldn't leave well enough alone. And it landed him right in the middle of disaster.

"Karen what are we looking at?" He asked his super intuitive suit.

"An explosion, Peter," Karen said.

"Okay, yeah, I know, but do we know what happened here?"

"Yes, there was an explosion."

"I get it, it's been a bit since we were on patrol and nothing has happened yet and so we're a little bit off. It's not your fault, I don't blame you. I don't blame you," Peter was a little annoyed with his AI, but Mr. Stark made him that suit. So it was perfect. Telling Shuri that he needed to think about whether or not he wanted upgrades on his suit was basically like leaving her on read. He should probably get back to her on that. He actually regretted not spending time with her today, even though that hadn't been up to him. He kind of regretted not spending time with Ned today, since that had been up to him, and Ned had seemed disappointed. Even though he hadn't physically registered the time difference during the snap, he still felt like he had missed out on five years of life experience and was coming back less of himself because of it. He hated to admit it, but he didn't just feel out of his element with Spiderman stuff, he felt out of his element with friendship, and, in general, with normal teen stuff.

Maybe it was just because his friend circle was expanding. Adding in Shuri was certainly going to change things… Who was he kidding? He couldn't pin this one on Shuri! She wasn't the one who had snubbed Ned and gone on patrol instead of eating snacks and solving math problems with his best friend. Shuri hadn't done anything wrong.

"I'm the worst," he muttered to himself as he approached the site of the explosion, about to swing inside and investigate.

"That's not true, Peter. You're about to enter the debris. There is a lot of smoke, so I will be monitoring your breathing." Peter paused.

"Are you not _always_ monitoring my breathing?"

"Mr. Stark designed me to look after you in every way possible. But he added a feature where I could do so without sounding like I was babying you. So I am permitted to not tell you what I am monitoring."

"Uh, thanks, Karen…" With that in mind he psyched himself up and swung in, searching for the source of the smoke.

"Careful, Peter," Karen warned unhelpfully, distracting him long enough from the tingling DANGER feeling he got from his spidersense. And then, before he could notice the attacker, the trap was sprung and he was captured.

"I should be doing homework," he realized as he was flung by a robotic tentacle into a metal room.

"I am monitoring your heart rate and it is indicating that you are feeling claustrophobic in this room."

"Thanks, Karen."


	6. Seventh-grade email

Chapter 6-Ned

His mom made snacks. His mom made snacks that he'd been working his way through all evening. So Peter was an hour late, right? No need to panic. He'd just work on homework and pretend that nothing was wrong. He'd pretend that it didn't feel like he was losing his best friend. He didn't even mind that Peter was late because Peter was Spiderman, and Spiderman had a lot of stuff to do. A lot of people to save. So he cut Peter some slack at ten. And then it was 11, and that was pretty late, so Peter probably wasn't coming, and Ned was just going to tidy up his homework and go to bed.

But he'd only been lying down for thirty minutes when he began to panic. Why was he lying down when his best friend was unaccounted for? Probably Peter had gone home because it was late but why hadn't he said anything? Ned checked his texts, checked Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook messages, even his email. Even his old alternate emails that he had made for free Netflix trials and Pottermore sorting quizzes. He was pretty consistently a Hufflepuff. But there were no messages from Peter anywhere.

So Ned did the reverse and began to message every account he knew Peter had. But there were no responses. He called Peter seventeen times. It was getting close to one now, he'd been going for so long. He didn't know how to track Peter's suit without direct access to it, and so he had no idea where that web-slinger was. If Peter had just gone home, he would have messaged or called.

And if Peter had gone home, his Aunt May wouldn't have called Ned at 1:35.

"Ned, where's Peter?"

"He's not at home?" Ned felt like he couldn't breathe when she asked that.

"No, I know he mentioned he'd be going over to your place, is he not there?" 

"No, he never came over. I thought patrol might've gone a little longer and then he went home. But he hasn't been answering any messages or calls…" Maybe he was passed out somewhere, maybe he was seriously injured, or worse…

"There was an explosion downtown…" May said nervously.

"What?" Why did he never check his news apps? What was the purpose of a news app if you personally refused to stay well informed? Ned was horrified. His friend could be in serious danger.

"We need to call the Avengers!" Ned shouted, probably waking up the rest of his family. Didn't matter, they'd probably think he was sleep talking.

"We can't just call the Avengers! Do you have their phone numbers?" Ned thought for a second.

"I don't have their numbers, but I might know someone who can help. Hold on May, I'll call you back if I know anything more, don't freak out, the best thing you can do is wait and see if Peter comes home on his own or calls you. It's actually more likely that he'll call you, or email you from his seventh-grade email account, or whatever."

"Seventh-grade email account? That thing still works?"

"Well, I don't know because he didn't respond. But I think he probably still gets spam emails on that email. I hope he didn't put me in the spam folder as a joke. That would be really inconvenient right now…"

"Ned! Focus! Call your person. I'll wait here and let you know if anything changes on the home front."

"Okay, thanks." He called Shuri, knowing it was like 11 there and she might be asleep, but it was two here and Peter might be dead. He liked Shuri and didn't want to mess up her day, but he decided that for this one time, this was more important.

"Hey, what's going on, what's up?" She had clearly just woken up.

"Shuri, I'm sorry to wake you, but Peter is in danger."

"What?! What can I do to help?"

"Can you come here?" He blurted, knowing it was a long shot, but absolutely desperate.

"Yes! Of course I can, immediately. Well, in like thirty minutes."

"You can be across the country in thirty minutes?"

"Yes, I just have to sneak away from my guard."

"Maybe you shouldn't do this. Maybe I can find Peter on my own, I'll hit the streets."

"No no no, you're not doing that. You are very unarmed. I will be there in thirty minutes, forty five tops."

"Okay, okay. Should I stay on the line?"

"Yes, but be quiet for ten minutes while I sneak past my guard." Ned was as quiet as he could be, penning the draft of where he and Shuri would meet when she got to New York so that he could brief her and make sure they could continue to communicate. He also had to figure out how he was sneaking out of the house, or maybe how he was sneaking Shuri into the house. This was more sneaking than he was used to.

"Okay, talk."

"Our lead is an explosion in," he opened up his news app and put her on speaker phone, "Oscorp's main building. This is great. This is just fantastic, my friend is probably trapped in a fire somewhere."

"Ned, calm down, we will get Peter back safely. I will scour the city and you will be my backup, my guy in the chair."

"I'm good at that, I can do that…"

"I know you can."

"We'll meet in half an hour to exchange a game plan, okay?"

"Yes, stay on the line though. I'm a little nervous, it would help. Unless you get a call from Peter and then absolutely take the call from Peter." Ned got this weird feeling all of a sudden. A very out of place feeling, given the situation. This would be the first time he and Shuri would be meeting.

"There's a little convenience store near my house. It'll definitely be open we can meet there," he told her, glancing at his window. He could totally climb out of that. Definitely. Or he could attempt walking out the front door… Yeah, he was going to do that one. That would be easier. And safer.

"I will see you soon."


	7. Nerves and Neon

**Just to be clear, even if Shuri and Ned weren't basically the same age, which I still don't believe, I would ship them. I will reiterate once more, nothing can turn me away from this ship. **

**Also thanks to everyone who reviews it means a lot to me! You inspire me to write faster! Or to write anything at all tbh. And I'm sorry for cliffhangers? I have this arc completely planned out, and I worry about filling chapters, so I try to have them lead into each other. **

* * *

Chapter 7-Shuri

New York is all lights and neon. I don't think there's a single star in the sky. Even if Wakanda's city is lit up most of the time, there are still places where you can see the stars. Places I would escape to with my brother- and a guard. Always a guard.

I find the place Ned mentioned. He talked to me all the way here. I stayed on the line in part for him, but mostly for me. I'm a little scared. I know this is the right thing to do but I'm scared. Not of the night or the neon or whatever happened to Peter, but of T'challa. Because if he finds out, I don't think I'll get to work with the outreach program anymore. And it's not like I have a choice, I have to help Peter and Ned. I'm not going to let my friends suffer, even if it puts my career in danger. They're more important.

I pause outside the door with a random thought before pulling the door open. This is the first time I'm meeting Ned. It will be a relatively brief meeting, though, probably. Since I have to go find Peter and rescue him. I step inside the convenience store and look around. There are three people here other than the cashier, who looks very bored. I take a deep breath and find Ned looking through the gum, glancing up every now and then and scanning the area for me. He nearly jumped when he saw me. Tonight must be pretty stressful for him, I know the feeling.

"I have the Oscorp building in my gps already. Here, this is for you." I hand over a band of kimoyo beads.

"I can talk to you on this so that you can leave the phone open for Peter. You're my guy in the chair. I need you." His face reddens and he nods, taking the bracelet and slipping it on.

"I know that you'll do great."

"Can I track you through the bracelet? In case something goes wrong and someone needs to be called?" He thinks of everything…

"Yes. If something does go wrong, there is a second contact you can reach. My brother. We really don't want to have to call him, but if anything happens, T'challa needs to know." I hate to admit that something might go wrong and that I might need my brother to rescue me.

"Okay." I realize that Ned is also scared of the prospect of contacting my brother. After all, to Ned, T'challa is a king, not a friend. I wonder if he was ever scared of talking to me. That's irrelevant now.

"I want you to sneak back into your house and stay there, on the line. Stay safe, you're the guy keeping us safe."

"I will." He seems a little less scared. Good, because I'm not.

"Do you want an energy drink or something? You could be up all night and we should probably buy something before the cashier gets suspicious."

"I doubt Ricky cares, but yeah let's get a red bull. And be careful out there..." I buy him a drink and on a whim grab two packs of tic tac gum because it sounds amazing and I want to try it. Then I go on the hunt for Peter Parker.

I immediately regret everything. Ned hasn't called yet because he's sneaking back into his house. I don't know if my guard knows I've snuck out yet. If she knows, T'challa knows. And if T'challa knows, he's probably already stalking me, like prey. Which means, just maybe, that I only have a little while to find Peter. But it's so late and dark and creepy and I'm tired and hungry and everything feels like a mistake… Until I hear a voice jump from my kimoyo beads.

"Guy in the chair, reporting for duty. Where are you?" I mumble out a street name, trying not to let on how nervous I am. I'm not the one who's supposed to be nervous, I'm the one who's supposed to make Ned feel better. But just hearing his voice makes me feel better.

"Oh, be careful, that's not a great neighborhood. Stand up straight, walk with purpose." I kind of laugh out of fearful delirium.

"You sound like a self-help book."

"Well, I've been working on one," I wonder if he knows exactly what he's doing. I wonder if he's brilliant and knows that just talking is helping me keep going as I move through the city.

"Oh yeah?"

"I have a few potential titles. How to get a Ned, Ned ahead, Ned start."

"I like How to get a Ned. I'd get a Ned."

"You have a Ned. Are you getting closer to Oscorp?"

"Yeah, I'm going as fast as I can. Are you still trying to get a hold of Peter?"

"Uh huh, I'm running a program that basically sends something out to all of his socials all at once. He's going to hate me when he's back, but it's necessary."

"Did you just make that program?"

"Well, I updated something I started a while ago..."

"That's smart," I compliment, taking a deep breath.

"We should have gotten you a red bull."

"I'll be fine," I lie, focusing on the chase. It's not a great chase if I haven't gotten anywhere yet. I'm not the superhero in my family, I've fought for my kingdom and for what's right, but I'd feel a lot less nervous back in my lab, or at the lab at the outreach program.

"Ned?" He fell silent for a second, and I wondered if something had gone wrong on his side. I hadn't been about to let him go on this crazy risky mission himself. He has less experience than me, and I'll need to get him a super suit or something before taking him from his position as guy in the chair. I guess I understand how T'challa feels about me because I feel a sense of overprotectiveness for Ned.

"Sorry I thought I heard someone get up and I didn't want them to know I was still awake. Are you okay?" He whispered, reminding me of ASMR.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Then suddenly he abandons the whispering and loudly proclaims, "Crap, crap, crap, Peter is calling! I can track him through this call! Hold on Shuri!"


	8. Backup

**Had to throw this out here right before I see the movie tomorrow. I have a new Spiderman crossover fanfic coming out soon, probably sometime this week. I'm super excited about that. I finally had to face the music and admit that Peter is 17. I really wish I didn't have to concede to canon, but I don't think it screws with my story.**

* * *

Chapter 8- Peter

He must have hit his head when he was thrown into the little room because he recalled waking up.

"Karen?" He groaned.

"Peter, your vital signs are good, but you might have a mild concussion."

"Right, of course…" Peter felt so tired and groggy. This was just the best.

"What time is it Karen?"

"Four AM."

"Oh."

"There is something nearby messing with this suit. Allow me to make some modifications to save energy?"

"Yeah, do it." Suddenly Peter's suit was reduced to just a mask, his web shooters, and his underwear.

"This is awkward…"

"Peter, you have over a thousand messages from Mr. Ned Leeds."

"That makes sense. Call him."

"It will use a lot of power."

"I'm already in my underwear Karen, it can't get worse!"

"Everything can always get worse. Calling Ned Leeds at his most relevant number." Peter's head was aching and he couldn't imagine Ned actually still being up at four in the morning… But he was!

"Man, what's the last time we had an all-nighter?" He joked, "I cheated a bit though, just took a nap."

"Peter! Now is obviously not the time, I'm tracking you, and Shuri, Shuri's on another line and she's going to come to find you and help you." Peter had to let out a breath of relief. He used to hate the concept of having someone help and save him, he used to think that he should be able to handle his problems himself. But sometimes it was okay to admit that you couldn't do it on your own. Sometimes it was necessary to reach out and get help.

"Thanks, man, I'll sit tight." Peter wrung his hands, almost accidentally deploying the web shooter.

"Careful, Peter," Karen advised.

"Karen is there any protocol where I could temporarily disable you to preserve energy? I have Ned and Shuri on the line."

"I was programmed to stay with you."

"Don't worry, I have backup." He trusted his friends.

"You'll always have backup," Ned promised.

"I will deactivate temporarily until the interference is dealt with. Web shooters and communications will continue to function." It was darker without Karen. He wondered what systems she ran without him knowing. He took a shaky breath and stood up, searching the room. Except it wasn't a room. It was more like a shipping container.

"Hey guys, I think I'm in a box. I might be able to bust out, but I don't know what's on the other side…"

"Just sit tight," Ned advised, "I'm tracking both of you right now, Shuri will be there really soon."

"You're a good friend," Peter said gratefully.

"I shouldn't have blown you off, man. I shouldn't have jumped into patrol straight away. I should have known that things would be different after the snap, that I wouldn't be the same. I should have respected what happened more… I should have just gone and done homework with you. I'm sorry…"

"Dude, don't apologize for trying to save the world. Just apologize for not making me your guy in the chair sooner."

"I'm sorry about that too."

"From now on, you have a partner in reverse crime." For the first time, Peter made out Shuri's voice over the line.

"Did you just call justice reverse crime?" She laughed. Peter laughed a little too. It just felt really good to know that someone had his back right now. He felt significantly less afraid with those two on the other side.

"Yes and I'm sticking with it."

"Alright then, I guess we're reverse criminals now. My brother would be so proud," Shuri decided.

"We'll get you out of there, buddy."

"Good. Something is messing with my suit, so I have my strength and my web shooters if we have to fight. Ned, you're at home right?" The last thing Peter would want was his guy in the chair getting hurt.

"Yes, safe at home trying to orchestrate your rescue."

"Well, you're doing great. I'm not an easy reverse criminal to watch after."

"You can say that again."

"After all this is over I'm getting you two upgrades. Especially you, Ned." Peter leaned against the wall and felt a grin stretch over his face. Though he was in imminent danger, he couldn't help be proud of his matchmaking skills. He'd done the impossible! He'd gotten his candidates in the same city at the same time. Maybe he should get kidnapped more often! Well no, probably not… But there was clearly a silver lining here.

"Are you hurt, Peter?" Shuri asked.

"Karen, er, my suit AI, suggested I have a mild concussion. So there's a bit of a headache muddling my senses, but I should be okay."

"So you're up for a fight when I get there?"

"Yes."

"Good, because I'm getting close." He let out a sigh of relief. Shuri was strong and tough and exactly who he needed to see right now.

"Thank you, Shuri. You didn't have to come."

"I'm not about to let my boys get hurt."

"Boys support boys," Ned reminded, referencing one of his and Peter's favorite podcasts.

"What's that from?" Shuri asked, "Never mind, that's not important right now. I'll be here for you soon."

"You're the best, both of you. I'd be lost without you."

"You are lost, dork. But we'll always find you," Ned promised. And Peter believed him.


	9. Schrodinger's box

**So I've seen the movie twice now and it doesn't have a lot of influence on _this_ story, so I'll probably go in an alternate timeline direction. In other news, I have a new-ish story called Boys Support Boys which does take influence from Far From Home and Endgame. You don't have to read it just like you don't have to read this one, either.**

* * *

Chapter 9- Ned

The waiting was the worst. Both Shuri and Peter had gone quiet. Maybe they were locked in combat with some mysterious force. Maybe something really bad was happening. Maybe they were gone. What scared him more than the silence was trying to break it. If he called out to Peter and Shuri and they didn't answer he would have confirmation. Fortunately, he still had the trackers. He could see them moving. That was good. It wasn't exactly enough to calm his racing heart, but if he blamed his heartbeat on the Red Bull he felt a little better.

To ease his mind further, he began to sketch some ideas for those upgrades Shuri had referenced. One idea, in particular, kept him going. What if he had a way to see through Peter's eyes? What better way to be Peter's guy in the chair and have his back than to be able to see and process what Peter saw? He'd obviously have to adapt Karen. Well, someone would have to adapt Karen. Would that be disrespectful to Tony Stark? Probably not…

As he sketched he tried to keep awake, loathing the fact that he had school tomorrow, no, I guess now it would be later today, not tomorrow. He doubted his ability to stay awake through classes. At least his homework had been taken care of by a more awake version of himself. Though he had had contact with Peter for maybe half an hour now he hadn't remembered to turn off his text blast invention. Now he securely shut it down, throwing it in as an option for his own personal Karen adaption. And, while he was at it, he came up with a name and an acronym for what he had previously been calling, "New Karen." He first had to gender his AI, recalling that his standard preference for Siri and his GPS was male. He scribbled the name KNIGHT in his notebook to see if he could come up with an equally cool sounding acronym. He managed to come up with "Kid needing intel gotta help," and he fell short after that because he couldn't come up with any good names or nicknames for Peter that started with T. In his sleep-deprived phase he laughed at the prospect of the name KNIGHP for his highly advanced and highly theoretical piece of AI. Then he started thinking about upgrades, which make him think about the song Upgrade from Be More Chill, whose Broadway debut had happened while he was blipped out of existence (not cool) and which gave him thee more ideas for his AI. The names Michael and Jeremy felt too long or clunky for his acronym. So how about George, Will, or Joe? George Salazar and a tale of two Wills had played the leading men, with Joe Iconis providing the stellar writing. "Just overriding evolution," or, "Willingly inviting life's lemons," okay maybe he shouldn't allude to lemons in the fanfiction age, maybe, "Gotta earn overwhelming respect, genius, einstein…." Okay, now he was going insane. Deep breath, calm down, stick with Joe. Joe had been decent.

Now that Joe was planned out, Ned sat back, expecting to hear nothing more than silence on the other end. The silence was the box holding Schrödinger's cat. The cat and his friends were both dead and alive in the silence. That's why he'd spent twenty minutes crafting an acronym for AI that didn't exist yet. But when he listened, he could hear something. The cat box was still intact, but Ned now faced death alone.

"Ned Leeds, I need you to tell me the location of my sister." Ned freaked out and fell backward out of his chair.

"Who are you?"

"I am T'challa, King of Wakanda and you're the last known contact for my little sister. Carefully consider your answer, where is she?" Ned didn't know how he'd been keeping Peter's secret for so long. He didn't manage to keep this one. He was terrified.

"She's in New York, rescuing the Spiderman…" He blurted. There was silence over the line.

"Shuri?" Ned called out into his kimoyo beads, taking a peek in Schrödinger's box.

"Yeah? Is this urgent?" The cat was alive, for now. She sounded like she was in the midst of a battle that he was very concerned about.

"Somewhat, your brother just contacted me."

Shuri sounded grim, "We'll cross that bridge when he gets here."

Ned waited for a moment, wondering which Wakandan royal would speak first.

"My sister has made it impossible for me to track her tonight. Where is your Spiderman?" T'challa demanded.

"They're at Oscorp's main building. I'm really sorry about this, I don't want Shuri getting hurt either, but my friend is in danger."

"Fight your own battles," T'challa threatened, though he was proud of his sister for helping people. He was just scared.

"I can't. I'm just the guy in the chair. Shuri is strong and tough and I know that she can take care of herself. I'm nothing in comparison." Ned broadcasted this to T'challa, Shuri, and Peter, as well as anyone who was awake in his house at that hour.

"Shuri is strong and tough, and she makes her own decisions and fights whatever battles she pleases," much to his displeasure, "so I'm not going to blame you or your Spiderman for this. But that does not mean I trust you." Ned didn't really know what Shuri and Peter were facing off against at Oscorp, but it couldn't possibly be scarier than the Black Panther saying that he didn't trust you. When was that shoe going to drop? Ned would probably spend the rest of his life terrified that one day the King of Wakanda was just going to be like, "never liked you, Ned," and drop kick him off the empire state building or something. Ned's anxieties, before Peter had become Spiderman, had always been more dramatic than real life. Now real life was dramatic. Now his anxiety actually had real threats to deal with.


	10. Multitasking

Chapter 10- Shuri

A lot of things were going on at the same time. Shuri was multitasking. She was fighting a robotic octopus while lecturing her friend, who was in his underwear. And, at the same time, she was panicking because there was no way her older brother wasn't on the way to New York right now, to chew her out and take her home. She had only heard Ned's half of the conversation between himself and T'challa. Had heard Ned say that he was nothing in comparison to her. If she hadn't been locked in fierce combat she would have tried to build up his self-esteem. But she had more important things to deal with.

"Disable the machine and then we can take down the man," Shuri yelled at Peter, taking a break from lecturing. Peter nodded and flung himself at the robotic tentacle, ripping it in half once he got a good grip. Shuri was blasting off as many tentacles as she could with her arm cannons, to the point where the villain stopped them and asked her what kind of tech she was using.

"Vibranium, idiot." And while she was eloquently responding, Peter was manually flipping through web options and taser-webbing the guy.

They obviously had this in the bag.

"This is super easy, barely an inconvenience!" Shuri yelled at Peter.

"It wasn't as easy alone!" Peter shouted back.

"Then you shouldn't have gone in alone!"

"I didn't have backup before!"

"You will always have backup!" She dodged tentacles as they argued. Yes, this was super easy. It would have been easier if she was more awake though.

"Thank you, Shuri!"

"You're welcome!" For a second, she thought about asking him what his favorite musical was, and all the other things on her list. But that would've been bad timing.

And, speaking of good/bad timing, suddenly, behind the villainous octopus that they hadn't gotten so much as a monologue from, a figure appeared, silhouetted perfectly with light coming from somewhere. Her brother had entered the fight. She motioned to Peter to step back because when T'challa entered fights, he finished them. It was only a matter of moments before their handiwork was complete, and both man and machine were disabled.

T'challa was obviously furious.

"Shuri!"

"I'm sorry, brother!" She apologized rapid fire. T'challa was about to continue when he noticed Peter.

"Why are you only in your underwear?"

"That guy messed with my tech, low power meant I could only leave my comms and web shooters active. So my nanosuit kinda disappeared."

"I'm glad you don't wear nano-underwear," T'challa responded, and Peter's face turned bright red.

"You and me both."

"I'm going to get you some clothes. Shuri, Peter, have a rest, your lecture will come soon." That was her brother. Even mad out of his mind he was going to be brotherly and take care of people. Peter and Shuri sat down on a stairway and waited for T'challa's return. Only after a moment of silence did they remember Ned, and both started talking at once.

"Ned, I'm safe, Shuri saved me, I'm fine!"

"My brother found us, I'm probably grounded for eternity. Peter will have to tell you about the battle it was crazy."

Ned was silent for a few seconds, and Shuri almost wondered if he had fallen asleep.

"I'm glad you're okay, do you want to go to breakfast?" Shuri was taken aback by the response.

"Sure," Peter replied.

"Not you, Peter. You have to own up to Aunt May and whoever else is in line to lecture you, and you need to get your concussion checked out. You don't have time for breakfast." Shuri watched Peter's expression change to sadness and anxiety.

"But want breakfast," he whined, causing Shuri to laugh.

"Eat a poptart," Ned advised.

"Fine."

"So, Shuri, join me for breakfast?"

"I'd have to ask my brother. He might not be in a breakfast kind of mood. And I owe it to him to respect his decisions right now."

"Okay. I'm going to a diner near that convenience store where we met. Got a big egg-shaped sign, you can't miss it. I'll be there at 6. If you can make it, great, if you can't, that's okay too, I wish you the best dealing with your grounding." Shuri smiled and then noticed that Peter was giving her a funny look.

"What?"

"Ned, we're disconnecting. Try to get some rest before breakfast."

"Oh, okay." Shuri followed Peter's lead and turned off her kimoyo beads.

"What is it, Peter?"

"Do you like Ned?"

"Yeah, Ned's a nice, cool guy." Peter didn't press the matter, he didn't get the chance. Clothes were being hurled at him.

"Get dressed, we will get you home and then I have to have a long talk with my sister." As promised, they got Peter home so he could have his own long talk. Shuri checked her watch, 5:38.

"Listen, T'challa, I know you have a lot of things you need to say to me, but if this is my last day in America, I'd like the chance to spend part of it with a friend. Can I meet Ned for breakfast at 6?"

"I do not trust him. But I know that you do. Today will not be your last day in America, just your last day in New York. If this is so important to you, you can meet up with Ned."

"Thank you!" She gave T'challa a big hug.

"You are still in a lot of trouble."

"I know."

"When you get back to the Outreach Program, your efforts need to be entirely focused on the outreach, in whatever capacity we deem necessary."

"We?" Shuri asked.

"Your adventures today have made things very clear. I want to be consulted about every decision you make. That includes business and personal." Shuri looked at him in surprise.

"You want to approve what I wear and what I eat for dinner?"

"If your wardrobe put you or Wakanda at risk I would want to approve of it. I mainly want to know about where you're going and who you're talking to."

"This is worse than grounding," Shuri said flatly.

"If I could take time away from Wakanda to help you make those decisions I would, but that's impossible. So, for a while, you need to run the important things by me. Understand?"

"I understand." She had put her brother through a lot today. He deserved her respect.

"Just until I can trust you again."

"So you don't trust me anymore?" Shuri was stunned.

"After everything that just happened with the blip, I'm not sure what I trust in anymore."

"I understand that too."


	11. The big kids are talking

Chapter 11- Peter

When Mr. Stark had been responsible for getting Peter clothes because the suit was all he had, he had gotten him an I love New York tourist shirt, and pants he didn't mention out of embarrassment. When King T'Challa was tasked with the same thing, he put Peter in a stylish suit taken straight from his own jet. So Peter showed up at the door of his apartment wearing the clothes of another man, specifically of a man so far above him that it was unfathomable that he had ever gotten the chance to be in his presence more than once. If we're counting, Peter was pretty sure this was the fourth time.

He begged Aunt May to let him change before he got his lecture and before she inevitably made him go to school. She agreed to let him change but told him to change into pajamas, that the day would be more beneficial if he was lectured and then shuffled off to bed.

"If I was Ned's mom or even Ned's aunt, he would also be spending the day in bed. You two pulled quite a stunt last night."

"Sorry, Aunt May."

"And that's not all. A representative is coming to speak to you."

"A representative of what? The Avengers? They haven't even figured themselves out yet…"

"Not of the Avengers, of you."

"I have a representative?"

"Several." She left him to puzzle out what that meant while he pulled on less nice clothing, neatly hanging up the hardly worn suit, wondering if he should return it or wait for the day he grew into that level of class. He trudged out of his room, feeling worn out and wimpy. He shouldn't be scared of a lecture or two. He had just fought Octopus man, so what was so scary about his Aunt and this representative?

Of course, he had needed help fighting Octopus man and was facing the lectures alone. Or so he thought until there was a knock at the door and a little torpedo barrelled into him. A smile stretched over his weary face.

"Hey, Morgan!" He smiled down at the cheeky little cherub.

"I'm up early," she informed him like this was a secret between them.

"So you are! What brings you here today kiddo? Are you my representative?"

"She might as well be, given the childish way you're conducting yourself," Pepper said, arms crossed. Peter laughed nervously.

"Hey, Morgan, do you want to play with my legos in my room while the big kids talk?"

Morgan looked like she was about to argue that she was a big kid, but playing with legos sounded like so much fun. So she agreed and Peter showed her where his legos were.

"Please don't touch anything else okay, Morgan? If you want to play with the other stuff in my room then wait for me, okay? Some of the stuff isn't safe."

"Okay, Petey." She dumped out the legos and began building with a big grin on her face. Peter smiled at her before closing the door and going out for the lectures.

"Happy and I will be keeping an eye on you. We had hoped that you mind take just a few days off before jumping back into the fray, make sure you have, well Tony might call it your groove, so, make sure you have your groove back. Basically what I'm saying is take some time off, do your homework, be a good influence for my daughter, and don't be a financial liability."

"Yes, Pepper."

"What she said, except with an official grounding," May added.

"Okay…" Peter sighed.

"Pepper and I are going to talk about your career, big kid talk. So go play with Morgan." Peter trudged to his room, putting on a smile for her. Morgan reminded him far too much of her father. Though he barely knew the little kid he knew that he would protect her with his life. He would be her big brother and her confidant, whatever she needed from him, whenever she needed it.

"Do you like it?" Morgan asked, showing him the tower she had built, using a million billion pieces from a million different sets.

"It's amazing!" He grinned, giving her a well-deserved high five. Morgan beamed back and presented a random red brick.

"You can put on the very last brick," She said it as if this were a grandly important thing, which of course it was.

"Thank you!" Morgan made his heart hurt. He wanted to pull her into a big hug and never let go because if he let go she might get hurt. And he couldn't let her get hurt.

"Morgan, do you have a phone?" He asked, very serious.

"Just a little one," Morgan said, pulling it out.

"I'm going to give you my number and you can text or call me anytime and I will try my best to answer, okay?"

"Okay." He put his number into her phone under the name Petey and took a picture just to be sure she always remembered who it was. Then, unable to stop himself, he pulled Morgan into a hug.

"I'm glad you came to visit me today," he said as he hugged her. Forget everything that happened the night before. Right now everything was just a little bit better because of Morgan. Morgan hugged back.

"Me too, Petey," she smiled so wide at him that he thought he was going to cry. There was a knock at the door.

"Morgan, come on sweetie! We have a lot of errands to run."

"Bye Petey!" Peter waved while Morgan left and then collapsed on his bed and started to drift off to dreamland. But before he could fall asleep he realized something. Ned and Shuri might be on a date right this very minute. Now he was too excited to sleep. He wanted to text Ned for all the details, but the date might still be going on, so Peter settled on asking tomorrow. Tomorrow they would both be well-rested and coherent. He smirked to himself while he drifted off, knowing that all this angst had been worth it in the end if Ned and Shuri were having a good breakfast date.


	12. Date Ned

Chapter 12-Ned

Ned sat in the diner and tried not to throw up out of nervousness. This wasn't really a date. But it was kind of a date. This was kind of a date! And so he had to be on a date. He had to be Date Ned. Date Ned didn't exist. He wasn't smooth and he wasn't charming and he definitely wasn't even coherent with like, maybe two hours of sleep that night, but probably not even that. And he had never been on a date before. Being charming and smooth was part of his personal fantasy but it wasn't who he was. He was awkward and kinda sweaty and definitely sleep deprived. If he got through this breakfast without relying heavily on memes that would be fantastic.

Oh yeah, she might not even come. He was going to wait until 6:15 before he ordered his food. It was 5:55. His heart was racing and his palms were sweating and he was thinking about earlier in the evening- morning, whatever- when he had met her in person for the first time. Seeing her across the convenience store wasn't exactly the meet-cute he had longed for, especially when framed by the anxiety of a missing friend. It meant everything to him that she had been willing to drop everything to help him find Peter. She barely knew them but she was already so loyal and kind. It meant even more to him that she'd kind of agreed to this breakfast date. 5:59. He was so tired…

The bell above the door rang. He'd closed his eyes for a few seconds and jumped at the sound, more on edge after last night. Then he saw her. She'd managed to change clothes. All he'd done since last night was put on deodorant. Her brother walked in behind her. Ned had stood to greet Shuri but shrank back down at the sight of the intimidating man. The King of Wakanda.

"You look nice," He squeaked out to Shuri, his voice cracking badly out of nervousness.

"Thank you, I feel like garbage though. I don't need to pull any more all-nighters any time soon." He laughed at her joke, but he couldn't help staring at T'challa in fear.

"Are you ready to order?" A waitress asked.

"In a moment, miss. Thank you." Shuri was so warm and kind. He felt his face warm up. T'challa was just a few tables away!

"I invited you to breakfast, so let me pay," he offered, his words tripping over each other, mind muddled by sleep deprivation and certainly nothing else.

"I'll pick up the check," T'challa said from his nearby table, indicating that he could hear and see everything Ned and Shuri were doing.

"Oh, no, sir, you don't have to, it's okay," Ned was humiliated and desperate.

"It isn't good to refuse the generosity of kings," Shuri whispered, embarrassing him all the more. He put his heads in his hands, trying to pull himself together. Be smooth and charming, Ned! Then both Shuri and T'challa laughed.

"Oh relax," Shuri urged.

"We're just pulling your leg, I promise," She reassured, laughing a little at his paled face.

"You can't do that to me! It's been a rough day!" He laughed in relief, though he was still unsettled.

"You did great today," she promised, putting a hand on his. Color returned to his cheeks, perhaps more color than he would prefer.

"I'm still paying for your little date though," T'Challa said, interrupting their moment very purposefully.

"I-it's not a date," he said hurriedly.

At about the same time Shuri was asking, "Is it a date?"

They blushed and stared at each other.

"Peter seems to think I like you or whatever," Shuri mentioned casually. Her hand was still on his.

"Oh, that sounds like Peter yeah. That boy. Reading so much into everything." Ned laughed nervously.

"So is this a date, Ned?" 

Ned contemplated it.

"You don't have to answer right away. In fact, I have some other stuff I'd like to talk about."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Absolutely. I have a list."

"Should I be scared?"

"What? No! Of course not why would you be scared? I'm not scary lol, don't be scared of me!" Shuri laughed.

"It's early," he mumbled in apology.

"I was just thinking of some things that I wanted to ask you and Peter. Favorite musical?"

"Oh, shoot… Give me a second. I really like Be More Chill. It's a fun story."

"Oh, Broadway or Original Cast?"

"Ack, don't make me choose! I don't like figuring out what I like more because I think the story is arguably better in the Broadway adaptation but I just love the original cast recording so much more… Anyway, what kind of sick freak thought it was fair for BMC to hit Broadway while half the population was blipped out? I may never get to see it."

"Yeah, that sucks." Shuri agreed.

"What're your favorite musicals?"

"Bold of you to assume I have more than one favorite, but you're right… Six and Waitress."

"Do you feel like you're a patron of Lulu's diner by being here?'

"I would if we could get pie but it's too early," she frowned in sadness.

"Shuri, respectfully, there are some things you clearly don't know. It is never ever too early for pie. We haven't ordered yet, we can eat pie for breakfast."

"Is that a good idea?"

"Seems like the perfect end to this crazy night, to be honest."

"Okay, pie for breakfast." T'challa snorted from his own table as they ordered.

"You're children."

"We are children," Shuri agreed, "That's why you've grounded me."

"Oh, oof, you're grounded? I bet Peter's grounded. I'm the only one who got out unscathed," though he was afraid and so so tired.

"I wouldn't say you got out unscathed. You didn't have the easiest night. You should skip school."

"No," T'challa broke in again, "you should not skip school. I was afraid that your influence would steer my sister down a bad path but she is clearly so much worse of an influence on you than you are on her. So please allow me to protect you from my overly reckless sister."

Ned glanced at Shuri, "I'll take my chances."

Two pieces of pie were put in front of them and for a while, they were mostly invested in their breakfast. Shuri asked a couple of questions, about his family and American school and what the deal was with taco bell. He answered all her questions as best he could but kept the first, arguably more important question at the forefront of his mind.

As T'challa was settling the relatively cheap bill, Ned had an answer for her.

"It's not a date Shuri. Not because I didn't think it could be or because I don't want it to be but because if we ever have a for-real date, there won't be a chaperone." Shuri glanced at her brother and then glanced at Ned, surprised he had an answer for this when she'd mostly just been teasing him.

"Sounds nice. Good luck getting rid of the chaperone, though."

"I think two people as smart as us will be able to figure out a way," Ned said confidently, making her smile.

"You're probably right. Thanks for the not-date. Best one I've ever been on." Shuri stood and they shared a hug before parting ways. She had to get back to California and he had to get to school, but neither of their fates seemed too bad right now. They were filled up from their breakfast not-date, and even after a night like last night, the future seemed bright.


	13. Grounded

**Rest in Peace, Chadwick Boseman. Wakanda forever.**

**This is a lighter chapter than what the situation entails but I wanted to publish something in honor of the King. It really is tragic, he was taken too soon.**

* * *

Shuri hadn't really ever been grounded before. Chastised, reprimanded, told to stay out of the way so she could stay safe, yeah, all of those things. But never grounded. It was interesting, actually, a strange change of pace.

She'd spent the rest of the day after her visit to New York sleeping in and lazily texting and calling her friends.

Peter, who was also grounded, texted her around three in the afternoon his time, 12 PM where she was, "Did you reference Pitch Meetings during our battle?"

"Yeah, was that unprofessional?"

"It was kind of funny, I just realized it. That was clever."

"It was super easy, barely an inconvenience."

Peter sent a laughing emoji and then hit her with, "How was your breakfast date?" Along with several smirking emojis and one with heart eyes. She burst out laughing.

"The best not-date I've ever been on."

"Are you guys going on another not-date?"

"Probably not."

"Probably not?" Several frowny faces.

"If we go on another anything it will probably be a real date," Shuri responded, giving Peter something to freak out about and then going radio silent.

Peter sent her a lot of text demanding more details and providing her with a small army of heart eyes emojis. She couldn't imagine how many texts Ned was getting about the same thing, and he was in school. She couldn't help feeling bad for him.

She spent a good amount of time talking with T'Challa as well. Going over plans she could make without having to ask his permission about it later. She was doing her best to follow her brother's rules but running an organization was going to be difficult while grounded. Being her own person was going to be difficult while grounded. She vented a little in a phone call to Peter, who knew a thing or two about being grounded, but he kept pestering her for details about breakfast, so finally, he became too insufferable to talk to.

Peter's funniest line was when he asked her for T'Challa's number so that he could ask the King of Wakanda for details on her "date." She had laughed and hung up on him.

She really wanted to talk to Ned. But he'd had the longest day and she wasn't about to bother him when he really needed to be taking a nap. He was the only one who hadn't gotten a day off and he deserved a rest. She didn't know how she felt after their not-date and she really, really wanted to talk it out with someone, preferably Ned. His words had been sweet and they'd filled her head with confusing, happy thoughts. Peter thought she liked Ned. Like, like-liked him. Did she? She had to admit that when it seemed like he had a crush on her, her heart soared a little. He'd talked about a real date, without a chaperone. That excited her more than she was ready to admit. She'd practically froze.

Her brother had teased her about it. Had called it a date and told her that he was going to tell their mom about her new boyfriend.

"No more running off with your boyfriend," he'd said.

"And we're going to have to talk it over before your boyfriend can visit Wakanda." She was blushing and frustrated with his teasing. She wasn't defined by the feelings she had for someone else. When she got done talking to T'Challa, she tried not to think about Ned or the breakfast date.

And then, she got a phone call.

"You should be sleeping!" She immediately chided, the second she heard him breathing on the other side of the call.

"I can't sleep, I have homework!" Ned laughed, and his laugh filled her with some sort of joy. He was okay, he was safe. That was what mattered.

"I can help you with your homework. I know a thing or two, about, things."

"Wow, I can't believe I'm friends with the smartest woman in the world," Ned chuckled. He did sound tired.

"Did you call me for tutoring?"

"No, but the help would be appreciated. There are some subjects that are just so boring."

"Do you want to talk about the boring stuff?"

"No, actually, uh, I wanted… I wanted to talk about us. About any potential of us… Peter and I could come visit you over fall break. It's only two days but that'd be a four day weekend and-"

"What exactly are you asking, Ned?"

"I want a proper chance at a part 2, at a… Well, a real date. Breakfast or otherwise. Uh… What do you say, Shuri? Am I a guy that you'd kinda be into?" Shuri had to laugh at his cheesy line.

"I don't know. I'd have to go on that date."

They were silent for a minute, both probably feeling a little bubbly.

"Why do you like me?" She finally.

"You're so smart and funny," Ned said, "and you care so much about so many people. You're a good person."

"Anything else?"

"You're very cute," Ned added.

"Aww, you're not so bad yourself."

"I know that I'm not the kind of person who deserves a second date with a princess."

"That's bull. It's insane that you don't see the coolest parts of yourself. You're hardworking and brilliant and I know you're the type of person who would go to the ends of the earth for the people you love."

"I don't know how you do that," Ned said, "say all the right things, all the nicest things…"

"I've been reading this self-help book. How to get a Ned."

"You have a Ned."

"You said that last night," Shuri remembered.

"Yeah, well now it's true. If you want it to be true."

"Let's see where this goes. If… If this doesn't work out, like this, will I still have you as my friend?"

"Of course. Keeping you in my life is more important than having a girlfriend."

"Thank you, Ned. I think we're going to be friends for a long time."


End file.
